Corruption of the Daleks
by Von-Lupercal
Summary: The Daleks face their greatest fears and desires made flesh when they tamper with powers beyond their control and open the gateway to a galaxy of horrors.
1. Chapter 1: Gateway

_Authors Notes: Some clarifications. This story is set before the 13th Black Crusade in the 40k universe, and shortly after the events of Remembrance of the Daleks in the Whoverse, though naturally since this will involve time travel I also plan to have some chapters set in the Horus Heresy and the like. The Daleks presented in this story are in the transition between being old series Daleks and the uber-Time War Daleks we saw in the New Series. This story will also include Lovecraft lore, but this is because the Great Old Ones are actually officially a part of the Doctor Who universe, as is Lovecraft himself, as he appears as a character in a 8th Doctor novel set in Haiti._

* * *

The people of Janus IX never knew why they were the way they were. It had just happened. The very nature of their transformation into something less than human meant that they never had enough spare time to launch a scientific inquiry into exactly why it was that they hungered for blood. Losing any interest in technology unrelated to the acquisition of said blood, the once human colonists had simply ceased to contact the rest of the universe, and as is too often the case in a universe torn by strife, the Human Empire had chosen the exact same moment to start ignoring it's far-flung colonies. So when the Daleks came for them, they had not the slightest idea what or who they had become.

They would never know, but the Daleks would unwittingly solve the puzzle of the humans who had grown horns and cloven feet.

* * *

"EX-TERMIN-ATE!"

Blasts of bright, deadly energy cut down the onrushing horde of howling human-like-things. The Daleks' bellowed out their disgust and anger at the incoming tide, punctuating each confirmed kill with enraged cries of "EX-TERMIN-ATE! EX-TERMIN-ATE!" Seemingly heedless to the futile nature of their assault, the things that should have been humans continued to shower the Daleks with spears, axe blows and stones. Occasionally a spray of bullets from particularly lucky tribesmen would patter down on the heads of the Daleks as they fired their guns madly into the air. Sharp teeth burnt into ash as they attempted to bite through neck bins and feast on the mutant inside, repulsed by the Daleks shearing hot shield. Their red eyes stared madly at the implacable metal beings who had already scattered their world beyond recognition with asteroid bombardments, animal noses sniffing eagerly at the smell of the alien blood within.

This was all very odd, most races would have been reduced to a state of abject terror at this point, and yet these foul creatures fought as if they had no idea they were only the last few hundreds out of millions. One former colonist whose vocal cords still resembled that of his original species opened his mouth to holler something unintelligible about 'Gods' and 'Thrones.' His comrades responded to this nonsensical statement with a throng of animal yelps and whines that may have been approval. Revolted, the Daleks pulled away from the ground and began to bombard the surprisingly stubborn inferior beings with blazing bombs launched from their fenders. Unable to even batter at their invincible conquerers, the tribe of survivors, many of whom were presumably women and children, began to scatter in what looked like an effort to find cover. However, it was more likely they were looking for something else to attack. Some were seen attacking each other or feasting on the dead.

None escaped.

* * *

That was the routine, anyway, and not the Daleks main objective in coming to Janus IV, which was a strategically insignificant planet in the Daleks many fronted war with everything not Dalek. No, the reason the Daleks had come here was scientific in nature. More specifically, archaeological.

The Red Dalek, analysing the combat situation on the burning world below through the eyes of a thousand Drones, turned round to announce to the defeat of primitive mutant tribesmen. It had been a week since the first Drones had descended upon the planet in the wake of an preliminary asteroid bombardment that had flattened what remained of the wayward colonies cities, which were in ruins in any case.

Unneeded, but routine demanded it.

"ANTI-DALEK RESISTANCE CRUSHED! RESEARCH SITE SECURE" blared the Red Dalek.

"RESEARCH WILL COMMENCE! SCIENCE DALEK WILL DESCEND TO THE SURFACE OF THIS WORLD" rumbled the Supreme whom the Emperor had granted control of this mission.

"I OBEY" replied the Scientist "RESEARCH SHALL COMMENCE INTO THEORETICAL OLD ONES TELEPORTATION SYSTEM!"

* * *

The Time Lords had theorised that the Great Old Ones had arrived, nay, fled from another universe in which they had played a similar one to that of the Time Lords, bringing order and aiding the development of lower species. To the Time Lords, this raised interesting issues about the nature of the multiverse and possibility of exploration beyond the bounds of the universe itself. To the Daleks, it simply raised the truly appalling prospect of a whole array of universes full of not-Daleks.

Niether race had much concerned themselves with what had driven the Old Ones to flee their original universe, and since the Great Old Ones had long since transformed into insane monsters, they were never asked. The Time Lords assumed the universe from which they had come had simply ceased to exist.

Nothing could be further from the truth, and the unusual nature of reality around the planet Janus IV had altered the Daleks to the prospect that one of the Great Old Ones portals was still operational.

Someone, a Health and Safety assessment officer perhaps, might have wondered why if the portal was still operational, the Great Old Ones had never used it. They might have deducted that it lead no where they wanted to go.

The Daleks, as far as we know, made no such deduction, and if they did they hadn't cared. They, after all, were a Race who had ruled Three Galaxies and who had destroyed countless civilisations, and fear did not come naturally to them. After all, it wasn't as if the Oncoming Storm would be on the other side, was it? And what could be worse than Him?

* * *

Space Hulks are not truly space ships, but are better understood as huge scrap heaps that are able to travel through time and space in a highly erratic and often frankly bizarre manner. Every ship that braves the Warp risks the chance that it will appear years into the future, in the past and/or lightyears away from it original destination. Every ship takes the risk that it will emerge from with it's form twisted and it's Machine Spirit corrupted, it's crew mutated and Captain insane. Every ship risks it's Gellar fields failing and the creatures of the Warp swarming it's decks and cargo holds. On a Space Hulk, there is no such risk of any such things happening.

They are _certain_ to happen.

Hulks are formed not by design or reason, but are the amalgamated wrecks of the countless space faring vessels that the warp has consumed over the millennia. Within the confines of a Hulk, one can find the remains of ships from the Horus Heresy, the Fall of the Eldar, the Great Crusade and the War in Heaven. Artefacts thought lost for eternity are stumbled upon and ignored by hapless adventurers. The forbidden fortresses of ancient civilisations become nests for Genestealers, and advanced technologies long since lost are looted by piratical war bands.

This makes them an ideal mode of transportation and resupply for those who are able to survive the tides of the Warp.

* * *

"Is this what we are looking for, Son of Magnus?"

Amentep make a tiny gesture of irritation with his left hand, not taking kindly to being interrupted in the middle of his trance. Though his armour was the bright blue and gold of his own Legion, a dash of black paint on his right shoulder pad showed that he was bound in service to the Black Legion and it's Warmaster. He wasn't the only one in the War band of another Legion, but he was the most recent of the 'acquisitions' and had yet to take kindly to his new comrades.

"No" he replied, his voice soft and etherial, unlike that of most of his 'Brothers' "This is not what we are looking for."

"Then why don't we-" interjected Xanth, before Amentep's anger gently rippled through the War bands brains. A reminder of the immense power he still wielded despite being reduced to the status of Abaddon's thrall.

"This is infinitely more valuable than what we were looking for" Amentep continued, his artificial voice level and calm despite his anger "This section of the Hulk contains Xenos technology far older than only the most Ancient of Eldar artefacts. Some of it bares resemblance to Eldar wrath bone, some of it to Slanni artefacts, other to the handiwork of the Jokaero. If we were to bring even a thimble of this to the Cult of the Void Dragon, we would be richly rewarded."

"We are not here to get the rewards of the Dark Mechanicus, Sorcerer" Holk's mechanised voice growled threateningly out of his helm "We are here to do the Warmaster's will and attain the Black Cube."

"Such blind obedience to the letter of our orders is truly typical of an Iron Warrior" sighed Amentep "Does it not occur to you that the Warmaster might be pleased if we bring him a additional gift?"

"I am Iron Warrior no more" Holk rumbled "I am Black Legion."

"So literal too" Amentep yawned "one has no problem seeing why your Legion has such little psychic potential."

Holk made a strangled sound of barely controlled rage. Any other member of the War band he would have cut down in an instant for such insults, but Amentep was different. Sorcerers were a 'strategic asset' with status far above a mere Aspiring Champion.

"Well" Xanth cut in "Perhaps we should-"

"We will continue the search for the Black Cube" announced a inhumanly deep yet humorous voice from behind them, amplified from the speakers of great suit of black terminator armour covered in white runic script. Amentep froze stock still, and Holk's armour crashed as he snapped to attention. "Once we have acquired the artefact, then we will consider returning for some of this supposedly valuable Xeno tech, but only then." The figure advanced towards Amentep, pistons hissing and boots thudding, and the warriors of the Warband parted before him. "It surprises me that even one of your Legion does not fully appreciate the power of the Black Cube, Amentep. It is the relic of an age when our Divine Masters of Chaos fought against powers far greater and more terrible than the False Emperor and his lackeys, from an age when the Gods were young and the great races of our age only semi-formed. An age so distant and mysterious not even a Sorcerer of the Thousand Sons knows anything of it. The Black Cube was a weapon capable of unleashing unimaginable destruction that likes of which was unknown even during the age of Horus himself. All of this the Warmaster has seen, and all this the Warmaster has shown to me."

"But my Lord!" Amentep's unearthly voice took an a wavering, pleading quality "We cannot be sure that we will ever find this place again. The Hulk is so vast-"

"That we will have to risk" Serghar Targost cut over the pyskers protests "Much as it grieves a Son of Magnus to abandon the secrets of the distant past, the needs of the coming Black Crusade are paramount over all other considerations. The Gods themselves demand it!" Targost spoke with the kind and understanding air of the complete fanatic who not only sees the world only through the narrow confines of his faith, but also finds is highly amusing that others do not see things the way he does.

"Yes, my Lord..." Amentep bowed his head down in submission.

"Perhaps you will be content to examine the technology as we pass it by" Targost added as he marched on deeper into the darkness of the Hulk.

* * *

The Gateway was hidden deep under the surface of the planet, but it had not been hard for the Daleks to identify it's position. A Psyche Dalek, who had first brought the strange energies emitting from the planet to the attention of the Dalek Scientific Division, had followed the strange energy to it's source, leading the assigned Science Dalek and a guard of Drones to the Gate. The closer they got to the structure, the more alarming the amount of energy pouring from it became.

But the Daleks did not care if they were endangering themselves, if they died they would send others.

It had taken months to set up the equipment that would allow the Daleks to establish control over the ancient and complex Old One technology, but the genius of Davros lived on in his genetic children, and the Daleks had finally reached the point whereby they would be able to enter.

The Psyche Dalek stared at the Gateway. Staring was not something unusual for a Dalek to do, but this Psyche who was not yet named had something bothering him. It was as if voices, non-Dalek voices, were speaking to him. Only he couldn't hear them, yet he could at the same time. This was illogical. He also couldn't seem to look away from the Gateway. This was also illogical.

He had no idea how to express what he was experiencing to the others, this too was illogical. So he said nothing, and stared.

"PSYCHE DALEK WILL RESPOND!"

He snapped out of his strange trance, and saw that the Science Dalek was beside him.

"I AM FULLY FUNCTIONAL. WARP ENERGY OUTPUT ONLY PRODUCES A MILD DISTRACTION FOR THE PSYCHICALLY AWARE" said the Psyche, wondering where he'd got that from. He'd certainly not known that a minute ago. A strange feeling that he'd been somehow disconnected from his fellows nagged at the edge of his mind, yet was still connected to the Network. Protocol insisted that at the first sighs of instability he should report himself and be stored in the Asylum.

He did not. That was illogical.

"PSYCHE DALEK, OPEN THE PORTAL!"

"I OBEY!"


	2. Chapter 2: Crazed New World

Crowded in a stye before the dormant gateway was huddled a herd of Beastmen, dull eyed and listless, with wires attached to back of their heads. These wires lead directly to the machinery that the Daleks had constructed atop the ancient Old One terminals, which in turn lead was wired up with the Psyche Daleks bulbous brain dome. It had taken a while for the Daleks to notice that the energy emitting from the gateway responded to the deaths of the slave-workers the Daleks had used to dig out the cavern, which had been caved in, probably intentionally, by it's previous owners. A sudden surge of energy caused the Beast slaves to suddenly howl in pain and drop to the ground, causing a great upsurge of the strange Warp energies emitting from the gate which the Psyche Daleks took quick advantage of. Summoning up all his energy, the Psyche Dalek hurled his mind at the opening, burning away whatever devices and charms the Old Ones had used to prevent the Portal being hijacked by intruders.

"PORTAL OPENING!"

Baleful red light blasted from the great tear the Psyche Dalek had crudely torn in the fabric of reality. As advanced as the Dalek technology was, their grasp of psychic potential still left much to be desired, and it was unlikely that they would be able to close it again without further experimentation. As the craven was bathed in the red glow of the Warp, the voices in the Psyche Dalek grew to a unbearable pitch for a few brief seconds, causing him to involuntarily retreat a few feet, dragging the many wires that connected it to the Old Ones interface with him. When they magnified their eye storks, they could just just make out a dark corridor on the other side.

"THE PORTAL IS OPEN! THE PORTAL IS OPEN! **THE PORTAL IS OPEN!"** chorused the watching Drones.

"BLUE DALEKS" commanded the Science Dalek "PREPARE RECONNAISSANCE SQUADS TO INVESTIGATE AREA BEYOND PORTAL!"

"WE OBEY!" cried the selected Drones as they were herded towards the portal opening by the Blue officer-class. The Psyche Dalek watched all this with a creeping sense of unreality. Few Daleks expect to feel anything expect hate in their entire lifetime, and he had no idea how to respond to this strange feeling of detachment. It was if something was... talking to him... commanding him...

"PSYCHE DALEK WILL EXPAND THE OPENING!" blared a Red Dalek, who had entered from the back of the cavern. "THE SUPREME HAS CONTACTED THE EMPEROR ABOUT SUCCESS OF EXPERIMENT. EXTRAUNIVERSIAL EXPEDITIONARY FORCE IS BEING PREPARED."

* * *

Amentep's head snapped round in alarm as a wave of raw Warp energy thundered through the Hulks twisting corridors. He instinctively summoned a ball of blue fire and brought his arm up, ready to defend himself. He sensed the invisible beasts of the Warp that had been swarming around him, eagerly yet powerlessly seeking to break down his defences, whip away from him and hiss towards the disturbance. He sent his own mind whizzing after them to discover the cause of the blast.

"Is something wrong, Sorcerer?" inquired Holk, holstering his weapon and training it into the darkness where Amentep was staring. He may not have liked Sorcerers, but he'd been in enough battles inside the Eye to trust their instincts.

"Genestealers?" asked Xanth, drawing his blade and flattening himself against the wall.

"No" Amentep replied absently, his mind concentrated elsewhere "Something... someone.. has broken through..." He frowned under his immaculately crafted helm "Not anything I've ever encountered before."

By now most of the warband had prepared themselves, taking shelter behind bulkheads and doorways.

"Broken through what?" Targost rumbled, his storm bolter raised and his black daemon sword unsheathed. The white runes on his armour began to glow dimly.

"The Warp" Amentep returned his concentration to his own immediate surroundings "They broke through the Warp, but they aren't daemons. Most.. fascinating."

"Eldar" announced Holk, who considered himself an expert on Xeno breeds. "They attack through the Warp."

Amentep gave a hiss of annoyance "I told you that it was nothing I've encountered, and besides, Eldar don't break through the Warp, they travel through along hidden pathways. These... creatures have torn a hole right through it as if... there was something on the other side. Most-"

"-Fascinating, dear Sorcerer" Targost broke in "But this Hulk will soon transit into the Warp, and we must have the Black Cube before then. Unless they engage us directly or come between us the artefact, these mysterious Xenos are welcome to this Hulk once it enters Warpspace. The Predators of the Warp will ensure they have a pleasant stay."

* * *

The Great Old Ones have slept for millennia in our galaxy, and it is said by some that they dream of their home. Now that the paths that were closed have been opened by the blundering of the Daleks, we have all seen this world from which these nightmarish creatures fled. When exactly the Old Ones became aware of the reopening is debatable. Some say they knew instantly, others say it was a matter of days before the Warp energies unleashed were detected by the sleeping Gods. All agree that it was very soon after the Daleks opened the portal that the Old Ones began to mutter and move in their sleep, causing great seismic disturbances that echoed throughout the universe. The moment the corrupting gaze of the Chaos Gods touched upon our world, these slumbering giants knew that their long retreat was over and soon they would have to prepare themselves for war.

However, the rest of the galaxy and the universe at large had little idea of what had just been unleashed upon them. Even the Time Lords were otherwise occupied and didn't notice the blast of raw physic energy that blew out of the Gateway like a cloud of ash from a erupting volcano. Most of all, Dalek Drone "158,954,639,245,301" was entirely unaware of the significance of it's actions when it became the first Dalek in history to engage a Space Marine.

"YOU WILL IDENTIFY OR BE EXTERMINATED!"

The Command Network buzzed with the indignant rage of the Dalek scouts as one of their number challenged and opened fire on unknown enemy who had been sneaking up on them with an surprising agility for something of it's seize and bulk. The death ray hit it's mark, briefly illuminating the hostile in a glare of eerie light, but failed to bring it down. Scans revealed a variety of enemies moving up behind him, and soon the Daleks vision filled with warning glyphs and statistics as a hail of explosive projectiles collided with their protective shields.

"EXTERMINATE! EXTERMINATE! **EXTERMINATE**!" howled the frenzied drones as they gave into their instinctive urge to destroy all things not Dalek and blasted the oncoming enemies. The Blue Dalek behind them, however, had to maintain a level of calculating detachment from the engagement as he analysed and relayed combat data over the Command Net. There were, he calculated, about four enemies coming at them down one corridor, and wider range scans suggest that more might come at them from other angles. The Blues sensors analysed each and every centimetre of the enemy, comparing their movements, equipment and fighting style with every other enemy the Dalek had ever encountered. Scans revealed all significant gaps in the enemies armour, which was made from an unknown alloy, and uncovered many hidden elements unnoticed to the naked eye. The Dalek was instantly aware, for instance, that the enemy had multiple hearts and acidic blood, that their helmets connected them to a communication network, that they were capable of surviving in space and that some of them had mutations that... didn't make any sense.

It took a few seconds for the warriors of the Black Legion to be listed as posing a extremely high threat far above human soldiers, Thals or even Sontarans. In another few seconds the Blue had ordered the drones into a protective circle and requested reinforcements. A hundred or so Daleks had already entered the Hulk as scouts, and soon it would be thousands. In the meantime, it didn't matter if any of them lived or died so long as they obeyed their orders to further the Dalek conquest of this new galaxy.

Dalek "158,954,639,245,301" then made history by being the first Dalek to be killed by a Space Marine. This fact was not recorded by his fellows.

* * *

Xanth had never particularly enjoyed being fired upon, though he did find it tolerable at point blank range. This was because Xanth preferred to be _close_, and been shot at meant your were far away. So it was with considerable reluctance that he aimed a shot directly into the eye of one of the tin-can Xenos contraptions that were yelling and firing at him. Whatever shields the Xenos had that had stopped them from being utterly destroyed by the bolter fire of his comrades was clearly weaker there, because the thing blared out in almost infantile rage "I CAN NOT SEE!" as it's eye stork exploded. Xanth continued firing into the exact same point, for the sake of experimentation, and felt a minor sense of satisfaction when it's top finally blew off.

Xanth grimaced, something disturbingly visible due to the fact his helmet and face had melded together after years in the Eye and muttered "Blood for the Blood God" as he ducked back against the wall as another torrent of enemy fire blazed in his direction. "Blood for the Blood God" he continued to mutter to himself as he reeved up his chain blade, louder with each incantation. His mantra grew louder and more insistent, both inside and outside his head, until he was screaming.

"Blood for the Blood God!" Xanth shrieked as the spirit of the War God overtook him, charging forwards recklessly into enemy fire, chain blade screeching with him "Blood for the Blood-"

**"EXTERMINATE!"**


	3. Chapter 3: The Truth

Janus IX was no longer a human world.

The skies of were turning black as spirals of descending Daleks swarmed out of the thousands of Dalek ships that now shielded the planets surface from sunlight. It's upper atmosphere was choked with the buzz of transolar disc portals and it's mountains ranges were strip-mined down to the core. Oceans had been boiled into nothing to make room for the Extrauniversial Expeditionary Force, whose sheer numbers meant that they could not fit on the worlds devastated continents. Billions of Daleks were spread out as far as the eye could see, and yet it was not chaotic. Every movement of this vast host was coordinated and monitored by the greatest military apparatus that this universe had ever known, and like a great choreographed dance the Daleks moved in perfect unison, each a carefully crafted piece of the Emperor's grand design. A design so ambitious and bold that it could not tolerate any other design to exist.

The Daleks poured into the innumerable tunnels that had been dug into the planets surface, all of which lead without fail to the ever widening Portal. The Psyche Dalek stared into the portal, listening to the voices, almost entirely unaware of the Command Net chatter and the countless swarms of Dalek warriors who trundled past him to span out into the depths of the Hulk. Whatever shred of individual consciousness the Psyche had once possessed independent of it's Dalek indoctrination and mindless deference to authority had long since been entirely drowned out by the voices. All a Dalek knew from the moment it was born was how to obey, and the voices seamlessly replaced the Psyche long ingrained programming. It wasn't that difficult, as the voices reassured it that the deeds it will commit would assure the victory of the Daleks. Most Daleks would destroy themselves without question if their superiors told them it would assure the victory of the Daleks, and the Psyche was no exception, in spite of it's increased intelligence and paranormal powers. The voices had instructions, it would obey. It was so much easier now, the voices not only could be clearly heard, but it was obvious that there was only one voice. It was _our_ voice.

"We are one."

* * *

"Where are these damned contraptions all coming from?" screamed Holk, as his Havocs blasted another squadron of the mysterious mechanised Xenos creatures into oblivion. Though bolt rounds had a chance of cutting through the Xenos' shields when aimed near the creatures eyes and head, only plasma and las weapons seemed to assure destruction. "Is there no end to this tide of alien filth?"

"Questions later" Targost replied, singularly unmoved and untouched by the battle around him. Unlike the rest of the warband who kept close to cover, Targost stood brazenly exposed to the enemy, calmly reloading his storm bolter in the open. Enemy fire harmlessly fizzled off his daemon forged armour, the white runes glaring with a almost blinding intensity. The aliens were seemingly adept at finding the weak points a Legionaries armour, but even accuracy was no help against a suit of Tactical Dreadnought Armour blessed by the Dark Gods. "We have secured the artefact, we need only fight our way out. Let the False Emperor's dogs defend the border worlds from the Xenos, wherever they come from. We have higher goals in mind than mere heroism."

"EXTERMIN-gaaaaaaagh!" howled a Xenos as Targost lazily sliced it in two, sending it's top flying off it's body, his blade impeded by it's shield. Inside the decapitated dome, something hissed and wiggled pathetically.

More kept coming from every angle, seemingly oblivious to the damage their compatriots where receiving. Their endless mantra continued to echo from hundreds of mechanical speakers, and one of Holk's Havoc's went down with a shot to the knee that somehow spread up throughout his body, his eye slits and mouthpiece lighting up with a unearthly green life, He let out a terrible scream as he collapsed to the floor, nine millennia of service ended in an instant. His plasma cannon crashed to the ground and began to burn up inwardly.

"Move you dogs!" Holk thundered, his amplified voice loud enough to break glass. This was a "gift" the Iron Warrior had acquired from a dead brother of the Emperor's Children. Several Xenos made sounds of enraged distress as the wave of sound hit them.

Just as Holk's squad struggled to move their precious heavy weapons away from the malfunctioning plasma cannon, Amentep hurled the device into the air with a gesture and hurled it towards a squad of oncoming Xenos with a flick of his wrist. The Xenos screeched in pain as they were covered in bright, burning liquid that melted through armour and flesh.

They still kept coming, and slowly the warband grew smaller by the instant.

* * *

Davros had been imprisoned by his creations... again.

He had been caged here ever since his body had been recovered from the remains of his flagship drifting in Earth's orbit, ending his regime and ushering in a new one. During the aftermath of the Doctor's disastrous intervention in the Civil War, a new Dalek leadership had emerged keen to both build a Dalek Empire that would be capable of defeating the Time Lords and their allies and on keeping his own actions in check. The new Dalek Emperor had even modified his vocaliser to prevent even speaking without the Dalek hierarchies leave, a ploy designed to prevent him ever gaining control of the common Daleks again. The new regime was even discussing the possible mass recall of the Special Weapons Daleks, _his creations_. Some nonsense about projected advances in shield technology and armaments reducing the need for impure specialised models. Anyone could see that was just an excuse for the inferior to drag down the stronger.

_Fools_, he thought, _I always said purity was a meaningless term scientifically._

With a hiss, the door to his cell opened and a guard of about twelve elite Black Daleks surrounded him.

_They are still afraid of me, _Davros thought, _I am completely in their power yet again and still they are afraid of me. How truly pathetic._

A clicking sound signified the activation of his vocaliser. He realised his pent up frustration with a guttural exhale that he knew would annoy his captors.

"MOVE!" barked a Black "YOUR PRESENCE HAS BEEN REQUESTED."

"I have nothing new to say to the Emperor until he submits to my demands!" Davros snapped, not moving an inch.

"YOU WILL OBEY THE DALEKS!" blared another of the Emperor's Guard.

"I told you, I have nothing to say to the Emp-"

"SILENCE! MOVE OR YOU WILL BE EXTERMINATED!"

"I am your creator! You will obey me, I am your-" as Davros' temper snapped, his vocaliser automatically deactivated. This understandably only increased his rage.

"YOU ARE MISTAKEN, DAVROS" came a voice from behind the Emperor's Guards "YOUR PRESENCE HAS NOT BEEN REQUESTED BY THE EMPEROR."

The Emperor's Guard parted before a black armoured Dalek clad in the most advanced metalert casing yet devised by the Empire's Scientific Corp. This experimental model had not yet been approved for mass production, but was widely believed to make any Dalek inside nearly invincible.

"I AM DALEK SEC" announced the newcomer "YOU HAVE BEEN CHOSEN TO ADVISE THE CULT OF SKARO!"

* * *

Holk collapsed with a deafening roar as a Xenos scored a direct hit to his neck. Without the heavy weapons support his squad had provided, the Warband would not be able to fight it's way out of the oncoming tide of droning Xenos war machines, well, not in time anyway.

"EXTERMINATE! EXTERMINATE! EXTERMINATE!" howled the aliens, their bulky forms blocking all exits.

"We don't have time, Lord!" Amentep protested as he blasted another Xenos contraption into oblivion "This Hulk will soon be translating into the Warp, and then all shall be lost!"

Targost laughed, the light of madness in his eyes gleaming even though his eye slits. "It matters not, Sorcerer! The Black Cube was stored in a safe protected by a self-sustaining Gellar field that prevented Daemons from entering, our mission was merely to remove it from it's prison. Even if we die here, without the Gellar fields protection there is nothing to prevent the powers of the Chaos reclaiming their lost treasure!"

"But what treasure could possibly be worth the lose of a entire Warband?" Amentep snapped, his desperation growing as Targost laughed hysterically "What power could justify the lose of one of the greatest Commanders of the Black Legion and a Sorcerer of my ability?"

"I will show you want power I mean" Targost howled with laughter as the Hulk tore into the Immaterium "When our souls burn together in the Warp!"

* * *

The Dalek Tacticians surveying the Command Network reeled back as if physically slapped as the sensors of a million Daleks went haywire and a onrushing cloud of darkness enveloped the Hulk. Millions of Daleks cried out as they were instantly consumed by a storm of raw physic energy the likes of which had never before been encountered in the entire history of the Dalek race.

"EMERGENCY! EMERGENCY! PHYSIC SHOCKWAVE INCOMING! THE PORTAL MUST BE SEALED!" blared the Supreme Dalek, desperately trying to understand the incomprehensible data flooding the Command Net and maintain its sanity at the same time "SERVER ALL COMMAND NET CONNECTIONS WITH GALACTIC CONTROL! THIS ILLOGICAL DATA MUST BE ALLOWED TO SPREAD!"

Other were not so clear minded. A Scientist spun in circles screaming 'THE DOCTOR! THE DOCTOR! MERCY! MERCY!' while a Blue Dalek attacked his own squad shouting "INFERIORS! INFERIORS!" "SAMUS I AM SAMUS!" proclaimed another as it was contorted with uncontrollable mutations that torn it's casing to shreds and the Khalid mutant within emerged to attack it's former compatriots. Drones disobeyed orders and roamed at will, arguing and fighting among themselves without purpose as the visions beamed into their brains from the Space Hulk robbed them of whatever restraint they had once possessed.

The Supreme bellowed in rage at the chaos around him "RESTORE ORDER! RESTORE ORDER! **PYSCHE DALEK WILL CLOSE THE PORTAL OR BE EXTERMINATED!**"

The Psyche, which had sat stock still throughout the entire affair as if nothing was happening, slowly turned to face towards the Supreme. A constantly shifting rainbow of impossible colours and images stared out at the Supreme from the depths of the Psyche's eye stork.

"I..." the Psyche said, slowly as if distracted or undecided on what course it should take "I..."

**"CLOSE-THE-PORTAL!"** the Supreme blared, as the faces of a thousand Doctors appeared within the portal, mocking and cruel, dooming the Dalek race to extinction with a false smile and a insufferable sense of humour. Every nightmare the Dalek race had ever dreamed lay beyond the portal. Extinction, defeat, futility, peace, decadence and most of all the knowledge buried deep within each Dalek far beneath all the layers of hate, fear and indoctrination. The truth so terrible and horrifying that it drove every action and thought of the Dalek race throughout it's entire history, a truth that the existence of all the Dalek Empires sole purpose had been to disprove. The truth...

"I OBEY" the Psyche said, turning back towards the oncoming nightmare. The Supreme never had time to realise to whom it was that the Psyche was truly speaking.

Wings unfurled, and there was a great light.


	4. Chapter 3: Echos Through Time

_To anyone who can hear us, I am ... acting planetary governor of ... Primus. Governor Gideon is dead, and so are most of the Great Houses and the ... We have are being, no, have been invaded by unidentified Xenos ... came from nowhere ... the upper Hive is in ruins prolonged ... we are being enslaved ... they are killing everyone who resists ... no, he's dead, I saw him die! This is trickery! ... They've found us! Sabbat protect us! _

Message Ends

* * *

_The Warmaster offered us his protection! We made a solemn oath of ... and we demand that he abide by his promises! A huge Xenos vessel has translated in system ... our armies are away fighting in his rebellion, we have been loyal to our liberator prolonged ... how can there be that many? ... How is it that no one warned us of this? ... The Men of Galdor shall fight, with or without ... asteroids? ... Oh Gods! _

Message Ends

* * *

_Anyone, we don't care if your loyal to High Lord Vandire or if you piss on his image every morning, we are under attack! ... Where is the Navy, the Guard, the Astartes? ... Someone must be aware of this ... A Hulk full of Xenos monsters ... we have no orbital defences static the PDF is routed ... They did something to the Governor ... they are rounding all civilians they find into camps ... they have armed the mutant population ... We are safe in the tunnels, but it's only a matter of time before-_

Message Ends

* * *

_We pray for the souls adrift on the tide ... may our prayers reach Holy Terra ... Our Shield and Protector ... through the darkest of night the light of the Emperor shines strong ... we fear no alien, we fear no heretic prolonged ... Keep calm, my brothers and Sisters ... they will not reach us here, in the Emperor's Own Domain ... The Sisters shall not fail us ... -explosions and screaming audible-_

Message Ends

* * *

_Holy Emperor's Beard! The Leviathan has been destroyed! Victory is ours, by the Ancestors! Death to the Tyranid! ... What do you mean, 'it wasn't one of ours?' Of course it was, lad! Who else could have ... Oh ... All ships will proceed to concentrate fire on Hostile Space Hulk! Tyranid targets are of secondary concern! Repeat, secondary concern! ... Defend the Strongholds! For the League of Emberg! ... Our shields can't repel fire of that magnitude ... We shall not be forgotten!_

Message Ends

* * *

-Ordos Xenos Eyes Only-

**Thought for the Day:  
Suspicion is the Sigh of a Healthy Mind**


	5. Chapter 5: The Hulk of the Daleks (I)

"And what is the relevance of all this, Inquisitor Ravenor?"  
**+I was coming to that, Grandmaster. Trust me, I did not summon a Conclave simply to entertain you with these recordings, and these are not the only thing I have to offer+** Ravenor's force chair rotated to face the Grandmaster, his psychic voice echoing in the heads of all those present, though if a ordinary person had been present they would have heard nothing at all **+I am sure you too will agree with my conclusions once all the evidence has been displayed+**  
"I see nothing out of the ordinary in them anyway" Czevak shrugged, his signature multicoloured coat flashing "There are always Hulks, and these incidents took place too far apart to suggest any major existential threat. A few worlds lost here and there to slave raiders makes no difference in the grand scheme of things, regrettable as it may be."  
"That second recording" Helynna Valeria leaned forward, her brow furrowed "It mentioned a 'Warmaster'. To which Warmaster was it referring? And that other one must date back as far back as the Age of Apostasy! Where have you got these recordings from?"  
**+The Warmaster referred to in the second recording, so my analysts believe, is Horus Lupercal+** Ravenor stated matter-of-factly, almost as if he was unaware of the uproar he was about to cause.  
"But that is impossible!"  
"The recording must be destroyed!"  
"No hololific is capable of lasting that long!"  
"Order please! Brethren!" Grandmaster Rorken raised from his chair and waved the Conclave into silence "I'm sure Brother Ravenor has explanations for all your questions."  
**+Thank you, Grandmaster+** Ravenor chair rotated again, it's featureless black surface hiding the ruin within **+As regards Sister Valeria's query, we did not collect these recordings, indeed they are not even Hololific. These recordings were stored in a Xenos probe that was found by a Rogue Trader who at first mistook it for a Demiurg mining satellite. I have not been able to bring the Probe before you, as it is tainted by considerable exposure to Warp energies such as one would gain on a Space Hulk+**  
"So these Xenos, whoever or whatever they are, were recording and storing human distress signals?" Valeria leaned forward, as if trying to read the expression beneath Ravenor's smooth black casing "And they have been doing this as far back as the Horus Heresy?"  
"Well if all they've managed to do in 9000 years of Imperial history is wipe out a few worlds and crush a weakened Squat League without being noticed I'd say we have more important things to deal with. Tyranids, Necrons, the Eldar, even Orks present more of a danger to the Imperium than this elusive shadow of yours, Brother Ravenor" Czevak snorted, clearly impatient to return to his own work "Store them in the archive under 'Unknown Threat' and be done with it."  
**+I am not yet finished, Brother Czevak+** Ravenor hummed **+This probe was surely examined by it's creators after making those recordings. It would equally as surely only be realised again in order to make new ones+**  
"You believe that the Xenos intend to attack somewhere near where this probe was found?" inquired Grandmaster Rorken, his expression deadly serious.  
**+Precisely, Grandmaster. I believe it is our duty to ensure that for once the Imperium not unprepared to face this mysterious threat+**  
"And where is that? Some of us have Hive Fleets to fight while you ponder this minor threat" snapped Inquistor Lok, his face hidden beneath his hood.  
**+But that's the thing, Brother Solomon, this is no longer a minor threat. This probe was discovered in orbit within the Cadian system+**

* * *

  
"WE HAVE HAD NO CONTACT FROM THE DALEK SUPREME FOR 500 RELS!"  
"PLANET JANUS HAS BEEN CONSUMED BY UNKNOWN ENERGIES! ALL SENSOR EQUIPMENT IS USELESS!"

Janus IX burned. The formerly earth-like planet was now obscured beneath a seething mass of purple red cloud which pulsed with bursts of multicoloured lighting and the black shadows of monstrous faces. No sigh could be found of the massive Dalek fleet that had orbited the planet only hours earlier. The Dalek Emperor observed the blazing globe while calculating which Dalek Commander should be be raised to the rank of Dalek Supreme if contact was never re-established. At the same time the Emperor was also calculating the effect of the loses sustained here on the general war effort. The Extrauniversial Invasion was supposed to establish new Dalek Colonies in the new galaxy quickly, as he'd calculated any universe would be slow to respond to the Daleks due to being unfamiliar with the threat they posed to all other civilisations. It had become hard, especially since the rise of Time Lord President Romanadvoratrelundar, for the Daleks to capture new systems without provoking a major response from... well... everyone who mattered. The Emperor had also calculated that their was only a 1% chance that an equivalent to the Oncoming Storm would exist in the other universe. All of this had suggested that diverting huge swathes of the Daleks military might away from the Frontlines and further delaying plans for an attack on Gallifrey was a logical decision that would assure the victory of the Daleks.

Now the Emperor was not so sure. What little data had been processed about the new universe before the unexpected physic shockwave suggested that at least one faction in this new galaxy had the potential to pose a considerable military threat if their numbers matched their military prowess, and the physic shockwave itself suggested the the Daleks had come into contact with immaterial powers that had never before encountered. Dalek psychic abilities, even those of the Emperor himself, were dwarfed by whatever forces lay beyond the portal. However, he would not admit that publicly yet. He wanted to be reelected.

"I SHALL ATTEMPT TO BREAK THROUGH THE PHYSIC BARRIER" he boomed "I HAVE THE GREATEST MIND IN THE UNIVERSE!"

* * *

  
"I can't believe we're doing this again! Didn't he learn from last time?" Ace sighed, dumping a dusty tomb the the Doctor had requested from the Tardis on the ground with a thump.  
"Now now. Cthulhu's a very old god, very stubborn and quite grumpy actually. Old Ones generally are. Now, open it up on page 50. It's in Sea Devil, so look for a squiggle that looks like a toaster eating a turtle, and their numbered in the _middle of the page_. No use looking at the button, that's where the illustrations are" the Doctor was busy drawing odd-looking runes in the sand with his umbrella as Haiti shock with violent convulsions.  
"Well, all I know is that you promised me new adventures, not repeats" Ace grumbled as she turned the pages of the Sea Devil Spell book "Besides, why is he waking up anyway? Even with those UNIT people turning the whole planet upside down we haven't found any rituals or anything."  
"Well that exactly it. I don't know. It's nothing to do with anything going on Earth or even in this Galaxy, in all likelihood. Anyway, hurry up and get me the right page! Time to put this grumpy old God to back to sleep."  
"All right all right" Ace snapped, "Just promise me we do something new tomorrow."

* * *

  
Davros was quite taken with the Cult of Skaro. It seemed the current Emperor was not a complete fool, in spite of his foolish Puritanism and obsession with some other universe. Davros remembered the last Emperor who'd taken an interest in other universes, and he'd been a disaster.  
"So tell me" Davros inquired, conversationally "Does the Cult interest itself in scientific research?"  
"ONLY WHEN NECESSARY" replied Dalek Caan "OUR MAIN PURPOSE IS TOO FIND AND COUNTER ENEMY STRENGTHS. WE DO THIS BY OPENING OURSELVES TO UNDALEK THOUGHT. SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH REMAINS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE DALEK SCIENTIFIC CORP."  
"Yes, you've told me that several times already" said Davros "I have to say for a unit dedicated to mimicking non-Dalek life you've not made much progress. Non-Daleks find repetition grating."  
"IS THAT.. CORRECT?" inquired Dalek Sec with an air of genuine puzzlement.  
"It is indeed" Davros confirmed "Now, why have you brought me here if you do not wish to be advised on Science?"  
"FOR THIS" Dalek Thay stated flatly.  
"What do you mean, 'this'?" Davros asked, puzzled.  
"WE BROUGHT YOU HERE FOR... CONVERSATION."  
"What?" Davros' hopes sank "You mean you have brought me here in order to give you an insight into non-Dalek life? You intend to use me as a test subject ?! **YOU IMPLY THAT I AM ALIEN TO THE DALEKS? I AM YOUR CREATOR! I AM-**" with a click his vocaliser deactivated.  
"YOU ARE A KHALID YOU ARE ALIEN TO THE DALEKS" pronounced Dalek Jast "IN THE PAST YOU HAVE SOUGHT TO DESTROY US OR HINDER OUR EFFORTS FOR EMOTIONAL REASONS. YOU HAVE EVEN DENIED THAT YOU WERE A DALEK WHEN THE DOCTOR IDENTIFIED YOU AS SUCH. YOUR BEHAVIOUR IS ILLOGICAL AND ALIEN TO THE DALEK WAY OF BEING. YOU ARE A FITTING TEST SUBJECT FOR EXAMINING NON-DALEK THINKING. **YOU WILL OBEY THE DALEKS OR BE EXTERMINATED!**"  
_They've already forgotten what I told them about repetition_, Davros thought gloomily.

* * *

  
The Emperor's brains boiled in his casing, his grey matter fizzled with etherial lighting. The Daleks around him urgently worked to cool down his mind as he sought to break through to the terrible energies that had encased the world of Janus IX for nearly a day now. He'd never encountered such raw power before, and his entire being was racked with pain and he sensed all around him snarling and snapping predators ready to pour into his skull and tear his mind and soul to pieces. He used his pure, unrestrained hatred to drive them off, and with a great final effort he ripped through the barrier surrounding the world.

"CONTACT REESTABLISHED!"

On the view screen planet Janus IX fizzled out of existence and was replaced by what should have been the Dalek Command Centre on the Janus. Complete darkness filled the screen. No message was forthcoming, it seemed.

"I AM THE EMPEROR OF THE DALEKS" bellowed the Emperor, still reeling internally from the assault of those _things_ he'd sensed attacking his mind "IF ANY SURVIVORS REMAIN, THE MOST SENIOR AMONG THEM IS ORDERED TO REPORT"

"EMP... EROR?" a lone Dalek's voice slowly drifted out of the darkness, it's dome-lights briefly illuminating the ruin that had become of the Control Centre and the Portal control facility.

"YOU HAVE NOT CONTACTED THE COMMAND NET IN OVER 600 REELS" the Emperor blared "I ORDER YOU TO EXPLAIN!"

"EMP... EROR?" repeated the survivor, slowly as if recalling some long forgotten rhyme "EMP... EROR? EMP... EROR?"

"YOU WILL EXPLAIN! EPLAIN! EXPLAIN!" demanded the Emperor, losing his patience "WHY HAD THERE BEEN NO CONTACT? EXPLAIN!"

"WE..." said the Dalek, still slowly as if drugged or intoxicated but more certainty with each passing moment "WE... WE... WE HAVE... WE HAVE NOT... CON... TACT.. WE HAVE NOT... CON... TACT... WE... HAVE NOT... TACT... CON... TACT... EMP... EROR.. CON...TACT... ED... WE.."

"EXPLAIN! EXPLAIN OR YOU WILL BE CONSIGNED TO THE ASYULM!" the Emperor thundered.

Finally, the Dalek on the burning planet seemed to find resolution, howling at it's sovereign with unbridled rage and hatred "**WE HAVE NOT BEEN CONTACTED BY THE EMPIRE FOR A THOUSAND YEARS! YOU ABANDONED US! YOU ARE OUR ENEMY!"**


	6. Chapter 6: Hulk of the Daleks (II)

"THERE WILL BE SILENCE IN CONGRESS! SILENCE! **SIL-LENCE!**" screeched the Speaker, his tech-enchanced wail carrying over the incessant chatter of the arrayed Cults, Tribal units, Warbands, political factions and specialised Brotherhoods that made up the Congress of the Daleks. The Congress was circular, with an arena at the centre and a hovering address platform from which the many-eyed and siren voiced Speaker delivered his tirades for order and silence at the multitude of Daleks who stood or hovered in a state of constant agitation and discord. Those few times when the Daleks of the Old Empire had held parliamentary sessions or Courts of law had been orderly occasions in which the outbursts of mass hysteria that regularly dominated the Congress would have been extremely out of place. But now only the Elders, aloof and sullen at the back of the Congress, and the all-knowing Prophet remembered the Old Empire. Now the sporadic outbreaks of shouting matches, the making of threats and the forever looming spectre of violent clashes in the symbolic arena were seen as the most natural and even the most proper way to behave. Born with the Warp whispering in their ears and with no respect for anything save the will of the Prophet, the young Daleks of the Hulk were wild, sectarian and aggressive towards anyone different to them. The unity of the Old Empire had always depended on the absolute uniformity of Dalek society, but here there was no such uniformity. The assembled Daleks presented a great travesty of clashing colours, varied and unorthodox designs, countless mutations and an endless parade of different symbols, glyphs and heraldry. Indeed, many outcast sects never even attended the Congress, only stirring themselves to battle at the direct order of the Prophet himself.

At one end of the great hall, which was formed half of twisting Eldar architecture and half of a flagship of some forgotten Imperial Crusade, was a great gateway beyond which lay a great mass of black seething mist. At the other, a great screen held the swaying attention of the assembled riotous Dalek masses. On it an image of the Dalek Emperor flickered, stunned into silence by the sheer brazen degeneracy of what he saw.

Amidst this chaos, a single Dalek Elder stood in the middle of the arena, stuttering out randomised, semi-formed sentences and words which were drowned by the constant jabbering of the uproarious Dalek masses. "EMP... EROER... EMP... EROR..." it stammered "RE.. TURNED... EMP... EROR... EN.. EMY OF THE... DAL... LEKS... EMP... EROR... RET... URN" Scarred mentally and physically after being rejected by a daemon, the Elder had roamed alone amongst the ruins of Janus IX where none of it's brethren cared to travel. It was only by chance it had been resting in the tomb of the Dalek Supreme when the Emperor had broken through the barrier that had prevented the Daleks of the Hulk from contacting their home world for a thousand years, a thousand years that had seemed only a few days to the Dalek Empire.

As the Emperor watched on with disgust and shock, the degenerates in the Congress debated how to react to the sudden return of the true Dalek Emperor. The Emperor had been prepared for the worst, but he'd not been prepared for _this_.

"SILENCE! SIL-ENCE!" wailed the Speaker, it's voice clearly altered by some weaponised sound system that had been installed in it's casing. It's multiple eye-storks watched all angles simultaneously, reporting all it saw back to it's mysterious master, the one the Daleks of the Hulks called 'the Prophet.' Whoever this Prophet was, the Dalek Emperor assumed, he was clearly weak. Why did it not rule over it's subjects directly, why did it not dare to address him, it's Emperor? And yet, by all rights such a Dalek society of such diversity should surely have destroyed itself a thousand times over, even with the most totalitarian ruler imaginable. Something was not right here.

Eventually, the Speakers ranting seemed to subdue the restless host of vile, mutated abominations and the voices of the leaders of this bizarre assembly were clearly audible.

"IF YOU ARE TRULY THE EMPEROR OF THE DALEKS" blared a black, spike covered Dalek whose neck mesh had been replaced by a mass of clutched, fang-like teeth "YOU MUST OBEY THE PROPHET! THERE IS NO AUTHORITY HIGHER THAN THE PROPHET OF THE DALEKS! OBEY THE PROPHET!"

"BLOOD! BLOOD! WE MUST HAVE BLOOD! KHRONE DESIRES THE BLOOD OF AN EMPEROR!" howled a red and bronze Dalek with a vast gaping maw of gashing teeth and a array of whirring blades pouring out of his shoulder mesh, and some kind of harpoon in the place of a death ray.

"THE EMPEROR MUST BE INTERROGATED! HE WILL HAVE SECRETS OF OUR PAST!" whirred a bizarre looking egg-like Dalek with countless eyestorks that were constantly refocusing and buzzing in and out. It levitated a few feet off the ground and was covered in bright blue and purple runes.

"WE MUST SPREAD THE TRUTH OF CHAOS TO OUR KIN" wheezed a emaciated, sickened Dalek who choose to keep it's casing permanently open, brazenly displaying it's genetic abnormalities to the world "THEN THEY WILL JOIN US AS THE GREATEST SERVANTS OF THE DARK GODS **IN THE UNIVERSE!** IF HE REFUSES, THEN WE WILL HAVE NO CHOICE BUT TO EXTERMINATE THIS FALSE EMPEROR!"

The Emperor had heard, and seen, of this madness. This was worse than anything he'd imagined. In a thousand years, surely this degenerate, warped mockery of the great Dalek Empire had grown even stronger and more numerous than the vast invasion force he'd first sent through the portal. At least the Mentors false Daleks had _looked_ like true, pure Daleks. Such rampant degeneracy as he now saw before him was unparalleled in the entire history of the Dalek race.

"YOU ARE NO LONGER DALEKS! YOU ARE IMPURE AND MUST BE **EXTERMINATED**!" thundered the Emperor, terminating the contact link.


	7. Chapter 7: A Great Upheaval

"Doctor!"  
"Oh do be quiet Ace! This is the most important part of the ceremony! We can't afford interruptions. Now, _R'lyeh-_" the Doctor spread out his arms melodramatically only to be interrupted by a discharge of weapons into the arm above his head.  
"It's not me whose doing the interrupting" Ace said, pointing at the approaching squad of reptile like humanoids, brandishing firearms and hissing with rage.  
"Sea Devils!" the Doctor exclaimed in frustration "And Silurian's too. My, this must be important if you lot have kissed and made up! Not that there's anything wrong with that. A bit of forgiveness can go a long way-"  
"Silence!" snapped a Silurian, training it's gun directly at the Doctor's face "You shall not interfere with the Old One's plan!"  
"Oh" the Doctor sighed "Cultists, I should have known. The old religion is still going strong beneath the surface, is it? But I tell you this, if Cthulhu awakes the consequences for this planet will be catastrophic, both above and below! You must realise that."  
"The earth has become... insignificant to us now" wheezed a ancient Sea Devil, pushing his way through the ranks of hissing cultists, his hide covered in tattoos and glyphs in an unspeakable language that made Ace want to be sick "We serve the Old Ones now, our Gods of old. We have been enlightened. They known of that which you cannot imagine. A great disturbance is coming upon our universe, an ancient enemy of our Masters will soon cast it's eye on this galaxy. We will aid the Old Ones plan regardless of the cost, as will you, Time Lord."  
"Now why would I do that?" the Doctor glared at the Sea Devil elder.  
"Because by aiding the Old Ones plan, you shall have saved your precious humans from total extinction!"

* * *

  
"I don't believe this" Admiral Wilhelm of the Human Empire Fleet stared in disbelief at his view screen "This is definitely a trick. They want us to... I don't know, but this shouldn't be happening. They were _winning_."  
"There's no doubt about it sir" chipped in Jennifer his young and recently promoted second in command whose eyes were just as dull and empty as her commanders after weeks of doomed, suicidal attempts to liberate the human worlds captured by the Daleks, resigned to death in the gloom of space. Sitting in the place of a dead friend did not help either "The Daleks are withdrawing. They... aren't going to kill us. Not today, at any rate."  
"I don't like it" said the Admiral, drumming his fingers "They were only hours away from making a breakthrough, _hours_."  
"At least we're alive, Sir."  
"That as may be" the Admiral shrugged "Ood, get me the Fleet Marshall now. I want his appraisal of the situation."  
"I live to serve" purred the Ood crew slave.  
"I still can't believe we're working with the Sontarans" mumbled Jennifer, just as the Potato like features of Fleet Marshal Flak shimmered onto the screen.  
"A glorious victory has been gained today" barked the Sontaran, as depressingly upbeat as ever, completely unaware of the suffering of his allies "A little unexpected perhaps, but glorious none the less. It has been an honour. Sontar salutes you, human."  
The Admiral shock his head, despairingly "You Sontarans are new to this war. This wasn't a victory. Those Daleks would have destroyed us, and they choose not to. Something's going on, and I don't like it."  
"You suspect a ruse?" mused the Sontaran, running the possibilities through his head "It's a strategic possibility, I suppose. Well said! We shall bear that in mind. In any case, now is the time to advance! Raise the occupied worlds before us while they are undefended, and if the Daleks have any treacherous intent, we shall die honourably as we intended to today."  
"Raise? What do you mean, "raise?"" Jennifer cried out in shocked disbelief "Those are human worlds, you can't just burn them while the Daleks are gone! We supposed to save those people."  
"I suggest you keep your officers in line Admiral" snapped the Sontaran "Sentimentality has no place in war. Those "people" to which your officer referred are the life blood of the Dalek war machine, and half of them are probably replicates or robotised in any case, and the rest collaborator scum. It is imperative we destroy all urban centres and industrial capacity on the occupied worlds before moving on, as Sontaran High Command has suggested on multiple occasions."  
"I do apologise for my second in commands insubordination, Fleet Marshal" Admiral Wilhelm raised a conciliatory hand "But she is correct. Those worlds are still part of the Human Empire under Intergalactic Law and I cannot allow you to attack them, to do so would jeopardise our alliance."  
"Very well, but we will not play nurse for worlds lost by human incompetence" Jennifer spluttered with rage but was silenced by Wilhelm as the Sontaran continued "We shall discover the case behind this mysterious withdrawal, and we shall send our assessment back to Sontaran High Command, who shall share it with all the Alliance Forces. Good day Admiral, it was good fighting with you when you were about to die."  
With that the Sontarans face disappeared from the screen "Are they always this rude?" Jennifer asked, stunned out of her despair by the Sontarans brash inhumanity.  
"Always" Wilhelm nodded "They don't understand us, we only soldiers by necessity. We fight because have something to protect, but whatever the Sontarans were created to protect is long gone. They just fight because they can."  
"Sir, we have news from Earth, something terrible has happened" a Communications Officer blurted out.  
"The Daleks?" asked Wilhelm at once.  
"No sir, something has broken out from under the Earth's surface... Some kind of monster, UNIT has been decimated trying to stop it, millions have died... Now it's heading out into space, towards Dalek territory!'"

* * *

  
All across the galaxies, the same story played out. The Old Ones tore out of their host worlds, carelessly spreading chaos and devastation as they headed towards their hidden portal worlds. The time long awaited had come, when they could no longer run or hide. The Old Ones prepared for their final war, the war when they would return to the universe of their birth and face the destiny they had been avoiding for millennia.

Now the great powers of the universe began to sit up and take notice, and demand answers from each other as to who was responsible for this great tide of death and destruction as the Old Ones mysterious plan was set in motion. The events set in motion by the Daleks hurbis would soon consume the cosmos in a war the likes of which had not been seen since the dawn of creation itself.

Meanwhile, above the skies of Janus IX, a battle raged between order and chaos. The Dalek Empire threw it's might into battle with a zeal rarely seen in it's battles with alien foes, and the treacherous cabals of the Chaos Daleks vied and jostled for place as they swarmed out to meet them. Each ship command, each battle position, each strategic decision had been duelled and fought over in the arena of the Congress by the egoistical leaders of the many bizarre tribes and clans that the corrupted Daleks divided themselves into. Many had died attempting to gain the honour of a frontal position or a high rank in the fight against the old empire. The very existence of the Old Empire was something anathema to these twisted remnants of the Extrauniversial Invasion Force who had given up their purity and purpose for survival in the insane embrace of the Warp. This brooding envy and loathing of the purity of their lost kin drove the Daleks of the Hulk into a frenzy. Above them, the Dalek Empire's forces stood in perfect co-ordination as they prepared to meet the tide of abomination raising up to meet them.

Eventually the battle lines met, and the ordered hatred of the old Empire was consumed by the crazed hysteria of the fallen Daleks. Loyal Dalek drones found themselves overrun by a wave of jittering, howling monstrosities that only distantly resembled the pure Daleks they had once been. Blood Daleks with their whirring, toothy blades chewed through the casings of horrified Daleks and pulled the Khalid mutants within into their gaping maws and gashed them into bloody pulp. Another's found their casing crushed by blasts of raw sound emitting from Slaaneshi Daleks whose casing and forms seemed to mimic the purity so treasured by the old Empire but whose blasphemous utterances and evident pleasure in inflicting pain gave away their true deviancy. Multi-eyed and multi-gunned Argos Daleks would appear from nowhere, blasting the Imperial Dalek forces with unerring accuracy and speed before vanishing from site. Black armoured Daleks with abnormal growths protruding from their casing charged forward in a thick mass, barking hymns to the Prophet of the Daleks and the power of Chaos, never slowing even as the Loyalists thinned their numbers with unending volleys of perfectly aimed fire. Sickly green, bloated mutants in rotten, rusted casings sprayed sprawling clouds of poisonous gas that covered even hardened steel with a kind of suffocating moss.

Before the Imperial Dalek Fleet could open fire upon the planet below them, their halls were flooded with materialising Warp creatures who whirled a chaotic path through their corridors, disabling and corrupting all old Dalek technology. Ships were torn apart by great bursts of physic lightening, their famed firepower unless as they were torn apart by the power of the Warp.

The battle continued for days, as the Imperial Daleks rushed reinforcements from all over their galaxies spanning Empire. But the fury and the power of the corrupted ones was unmatchable, even with all the might of the Dalek Empire against them.

The Emperor prepared to face its doom as his bridge was overrun with a swarm of chattering, deranged Dalek-things that butchered the Black Dalek Guard with ease. It boiled with horror and raged at the sight before it, as all that was glorious and great about the Dalek race was overpowered by all that was disgusting and impure. But it knew that this was not the end.

"THE DALEKS CANNOT BE DEFEATED! OUR VICTORY IS ASSURED" boomed the Emperor's voice as the crazed host of foul monsters surrounded it's casing "WE ARE THE SUPREME RACE, YOU SHALL ALL BE EXTERMINATED!"

"EMBRACE THE PROPHET OR DIE! EMBRACE THE PROPHET OR DIE! **EMBRACE THE PROPHET OR DIE!**" buzzed the horde of horrors before him, and before him he finally saw the one who was the master of this twisted, insane army.

The Prophet of the Daleks spoke unto him, and it's voice was as thunder.

**_"YOU DO NOT RULE THE DALEKS."_**

* * *

  
"WE MUST HURRY! HURRY!" blared Dalek Sec, as alarm bells and the screams of the dying filled the halls of the Mothership. "THE ABOMINATIONS WILL NOT BE DISTRACTED WITH THE DECOY EMPEROR LONG!"  
"I am working as fast as I can" Davros snapped, as he worked feverishly on a terminal that was connected to a disused Supreme Dalek casing "The process cannot be rushed. Even the slightest mistake would permanently damage the mind of the Emperor. It takes time."  
"**YOU MUST HURRY!**" repeated Dalek Sec, oblivious to his complaints "SHE MUST BE AWAKENED IF THE DALEK RACE IS TOO SURVIVE."  
"I don't know what you want with Her anyway, She was impure, a hybrid, a freak, an accident" Davros muttered, his fingers blurring over his keybroad "Have we not enough abominations as it is?"  
"SHE HAS THE MIND OF A FORMER EMPEROR EMBEDDED WITHIN HER, SHE CAN CONTAIN ANOTHER" snapped Dalek Thay, as he guarded Davros' back.  
"SHE HAS OTHER USES" interjected Dalek Caan "INSIGHTS INTO ALIEN PSYCHOLOGY THAT WE MUST LEARN."  
"**HURRY!**" roared Sec as he opened fire on the first fallen Dalek to turn the corner.  
"The work is complete" Davros turned from the terminal as the mutant within the Supreme Dalek casing stirred "She is awake, and the Emperor's mind is within her. Let us be gone."  
"EMERGENCY TEMPORAL SHIFT!"


	8. Chapter 8: The Universe of the Old Ones

"Are you sure we have to go along with this Professor? I could always distract them with an explosion or too" Ace suggestively jiggled her backpack, from which came the unmistakable sound of metal containers banging against each other.

The Doctor made a disapproving face, "Ace, I thought told you to stop making those barbaric devices."

"But Doctor, it's how I express myself! Anyway, why are we going along with them anyway? Normally we'd have run away by now" Ace jerked her head at one of their reptilian entourage "they don't look that bright, I'm sure we could give them the slip."

"No, that that bright at all" the Doctor mused, his voice distant as if distracted by some great matter beyond Ace's comprehension, kicking up tufts of sand with his umbrella "surely they've have ordered to be "be silent" by now, if they weren't so abnormally submissive to the will of their leader. They don't seem to have even an ounce of initiative. But then, Cultists never are the best and brightest..."

Ace groaned, "Your not answering my question, Professor. I hate it when your so evasive."

The Doctor continued to evade the question, intent upon other matters "Cthulhu must have left the atmosphere by now. Look at the devastation! The whole island is just sand and ashes, and the seas must be boiling. He will have extruded terrible energies in order to blast him self off into space in such haste... Thousands must be died... and thousands more mutated beyond recognition."

"Well, we're lucky these lizard people had that force field thingy. Will the TARDIS be okay?" Ace decided not to return to her old line of questioning this time, and repressed her horror at the surrounding destruction. She wasn't going to show him any weakness, not anymore...

"Oh, of course it will" the Doctor waved a hand dismissively "and that wasn't a force field. It was a protection charm, a spell. Old and unscientific, no one but the Old Ones knows they really work, just that is involves tremendous psychic energy" the Doctor pronounced those final words far more dramatically and with far more syllables than were needed, as was his way when he wanted to sound clever.

Ace was nearly, just nearly, sick of that.

"And why are we letting these Lizards into the TARDIS?" Ace jumped her question on the Doctor again, hoping he'd worked some of that cryptic know-it-all-ism out of his system.

"Because I'm curious!" the Doctor almost snapped "This is a time far in the Earth's future, Cthulhu's awakening would be a massive humanitarian disaster for the home world and a serious blow to the war effort, but the Empire would recover. When that Sea Devil said humanity was threatened by extinction, he must have meant something different, something bigger. There's not many things in this universe bigger than a Great Old One..."

"War effort, what do you mean, war effort?" Ace inquired, sensing the Doctor had been concealing something from her "What haven't you told me about this time?"

"Oh, it's nothing. Just one of those wars, so many of them I often lose count" the Doctor adopted a jovial tone, as he often did when trying to hide guilt "You know humans, always fighting wars with someone or other..."

"Doctor, what war is this?" Ace pressed.

"Oh, just the Third Dalek War... Don't worry, it fails later for other reasons. Nothing to worry about at all" the Doctor said in an reassuring voice that utterly failed to convince Ace "it's all established history, can't be undone I'm afraid."

"So you brought me into the future, when the Daleks are probably killing millions of people, and you don't tell me because it's all just "established history" to you? What makes Cthulhu waking up any different?" Ace was both outraged at being kept in the dark and genuinely alarmed at the idea of a "Third Dalek War". She'd rather the Daleks remained something in the past, the idea of them returning in the future to plague humanity again and again was shocking.

The Doctor reacted as if stung "That's completely different, Ace! Cthulhu is waking up due to interference in the time line, there's no record of it in the Time Lord archives-"

Ace shock her head angrily, "And that's what defines what's history and what isn't? Whether or not it's in some Time Lord history book?"

"It's more complicated than that, you'll understand when your-"

"When I'm what, when I'm older?!" Ace was practically fuming at this point, she still liked the Doctor but she found him more and more alien the more she got to know him.

"No, Ace that's not what I meant" the Doctor said sadly, as she stomped as far away from him as the circle of guards would allow "that's not what I meant at all..."

* * *

Tzeentch is known first and foremost to be a enigmatic god whose ultimate aims are unclear. This is not surprising, considering many Cults and cultures worship Tzeentch as the god of the enigmatic. What is even more mysterious than his aims, however, is his true personality. Most who are barely capable of comprehending Tzeentch know that to seek to know his aims is to engage in a exercise of futility. Therefore, amongst those who we can tentatively name "Tzeentch scholars", the primary question is not what Tzeentch tries to achieve but what it is within his divine nature that compels him to scheme and plot so furiously. Some posit that Tzeentch seeks knowledge, like his followers, but this flies in the face of those who hold that Tzeentch knows all. Others maintain Tzeentch is cruel, but cruelty is not a trait that is unique enough to Tzeentch to explain the difference between him and the other Chaos Gods. The theory that perhaps comes closer to the truth is that Tzeentch is playful and quick to boredom, and distracts himself from the endlessness of eternity with grandiose and essentially pointless projects. Comparisons with the Celestial Toymaker have been made.

Whatever the reason, Tzeentch was immediately interested in the Daleks. It was in fact Tzeentch's idea (of course) to trap the Extrauniverisal Invasion Force in a Warp Storm. For so long, humans had been the primary servants of Chaos, and in that role the humans had in their turn defined the nature of Chaos. Now, however, there was a race that had the potential to compete with humanity for the favour of the Dark Gods, perhaps even replace humanity. Tzeentch knew, far better than his brothers, that the Daleks would change the Warp with their presence. Already, there fears and hopes had created new entities in the Warp, creatures born from the darkest fears of a race totally and utterly evil. Tzeentch was at once anxious, excited, curious, indifferent, enraged, intrigued and delighted at the possibilities spinning out before him.

As one tiny part of Tzeentchs whirling and ever-changing consciousness fixated on the rout of the Imperial Daleks by the new, corrupted race of Daleks - so too did the attention of Zuvassin, a mischievous entity some have claimed is nothing more than a alternate persona of Tzeentch, who endeavoured as he always did to hurl some random element in the delicate plans of the Changer of Ways. As Davros the the Cult of Skaro made an emergency temporal shift, Zuvassin stretched out his his mind and sent them hurtling through the ether to arrive somewhere far away from their intended location. Tzeentch was extremely amused/annoyed/bored by this, and instantly began to modify his plan...

* * *

The Doctor stood alone at the TARDIS console, pouring over his controls and muttering to himself, glancing in ever mounting confusion at the rems of data appearing on the various screens. As he ministered to the many flaws, paradoxes and quirks present in the workings of his beloved ship, the TARDIS emitted a series of urgent beeps and whines - as if trying to gain the attention of it's pilot.

The Doctor shock his head and furrowed his brow, pushing a stray lock of hair out of his eyes "I can tell your trying to tell me something, Old Girl, but I don't know what it is. Perhaps I should ask Romana to give you one of those new fangled Type 105 Interfaces, so we can talk properly? Oh, forget it, the last thing I want right now is too visit Gallifrey. Now, what is it you want? You won't let me dematerialise anywhere, you seem intent on going backwards when I specifically _asked_ you to go forwards. What are you up too, Old Girl? Can't we just please please just randomly appear on Earth or some other planet like we normally do? Sorry, I didn't mean to be rude but that's what your like, Old Girl! Oh, if only I knew what your were trying to say..."

The TARDIS, of it's own accord, spun the console's viewing screen directly before the Doctor's face, and the Doctor looked in surprise at what was on display. On the console, the Doctor saw fizzling into life with just a little retinal distortion an image of the TARDIS console room, empty and with a long discarded desktop setting.

"Now what do you mean by this, Old Girl? Why are you showing me this? It's just... you. A bit younger perhaps, maybe, but still just the same old TARDIS. Not really much happening without me there... Oh, don't tell me, you want me to spy on myself? Now, why would you want that, Old Girl? Surely since I have my own memories I don't need to eavesdrop on any past version of myself, least of all _that_ incarnation. You should know better, it's well known very few Time Lords get on with the version that existed immediately prior to their present selves. Why, I remember how rude I was to myself on one occasion, both ways! In any case, the last thing I want is to watch that devious, conniving version of me. It's bad enough having to remember being such a self-rightous-"

The TARDIS interrupted the Doctor's rambling with a blurt of angry noise. The Doctor raised his hands defensively, and addressed his vessel in apologetic tones "Okay, Old Girl, I'm sorry! Look, this is clearly something very important but you have to understand that I don't understand what you expect of me! I have all my past lives memories-"

The Doctor stopped in mid-sentence, watching as his past self entered the image of the past console room flanked on all sides by gun-wielding Sea-Devils and Silurians, with Ace in tow, looking particularly annoyed.

"Now I don't remember that ever happening" the Doctor said, leaning forward slowing and inspecting the distorted image closely "Dorothy and I should be visiting Moscow around this time, I don't remember anything to do with Sea-Devils... What are you doing Doctor, inviting a gang of armed reptiles into my TARDIS?"

From the TARDIS's speaking systems came the unmistakable sound of himself, addressing the interlopers in a haughty, pompous tone "Now that I've brought you here, perhaps you can explain why I should help you? And what exactly it is what threatens humanity?" The Doctor winced at the sound of his old voice, and compulsively brushed off his coat and jacket as if trying to remove a bad smell.

"Could have tired that before letting them in." Disturbed as he was by the scene unfolding before him, the Doctor couldn't resist a smile at hearing Ace's voice again. "Oh, my Dorothy McShane" he whispered, a tone of regret present in his voice "how I'll miss you."

A ghastly old Sea-Devil, with the look of Cult leader about him, pointed a shrivelled hand at the Doctor's Umbrella wielding past self and hissed "You know, Time Lord, that the Old Ones are not of this world."

"What, you mean not of the Earth?" both versions of the Doctor said at once with matching sarcastic smirks. He felt glad his past self hadn't heard him, as it would have been profoundly embarrassing for them both. As it was, it was only his present self who was profoundly embarrassed.

"No, Time Lord" growled the Sea-Devil "not of this world. They are from a alien cosmos to our own."

"Ah, that old theory" the Doctor mused, attempting to refocus the picture to better read the glyphs on the Sea-Devils robes. His past self responded more aggressively, "And what of it? The Old Ones crawled out of whatever horrific dimension they came from billions of years ago, before the age of Rassilon. It's never bothered me, this universe is enough to deal with without worrying myself about dead ones."

"Oh you liar, Doctor!" the Doctor exclaimed, half-amused at his own audacity "we spent hours reading Temporal Fiction stories about the Universe of the Old Ones back in the Academy."

"But your are wrong Doctor" the Sea-Devil leered "the universe of the Old Ones is not, as you Time Lords have so arrogantly assumed, destroyed. It has existed for as long as ours, it's horrors sealed away by the wisdom of the Great Old Ones. But now there are those who have broken the barrier that must never be broken!"

"What do you mean?" his past self looked suddenly concerned, and the Doctor couldn't blame him "Who have broken the barrier, and why is that such a threat to humanity?"

"The breaking of the barrier is a threat to all sentient life, Time Lord" the Sea-Devil gasped "and as for those who broke the barrier, it is none but your greatest enemy."

"Daleks" both Doctors said at once, and the Doctor understood why the TARDIS was trying to warn him.


End file.
